April 11, 2008 - A group of high-profile business leaders including Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson, Intel VP William Swope, and Li Xiaolin, president of China Power, have banded together in advance of next year's U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. The newly formed Copenhagen Climate Council aims to promote a global regulatory environment that will enable business to find innovative solutions to the climate challenge.

"We need the industry to continue to be a tremendous source of creativity and innovation," says Intel's William Swope. "Fundamental to our position is to help the council advocate for a stable policy environment that allows business to invest in meeting the climate change."

"The urgency of global warming is becoming a catalyst for a new industrial revolution," adds Erik Rasmussen, a prominent journalist and co-founder of the council. "We are determined to turn the risk of climate change into opportunity."

The council will create an online platform to engage the top 500 global companies that have shown leadership on climate issues. In May, the council will host a summit to develop a legal framework to "unleash the potential of business worldwide to effectively deal with climate change." The group will also sponsor an international research conference on climate, to be held in Copenhagen in June.